BC Genereal Employees' Union president Paul Finch giving workers on the picket line a speech in Kelowna on Sept. 9, 2025.

(JESSE TOMAS / iNFOnews.ca)

Striking BCGEU workers took to the street in downtown Kelowna today to call for a "proper" wage increase from the provincial government. It's party of the union's escalating job action after negotiations stalled weeks ago.

The BC Government and Employees' Union has 34,000 members working for in the province's public service. The union has been bargaining for better wages, access to telework and better benefits. They work in sectors like health care, social services, education, highway maintenance and the BC Wildfire Service.

The union’s president Paul Finch told iNFOnews.ca that his workers are ready to stay on the picket line for as long as it takes.

“We're going to keep escalating until this government figures it out, comes back to the table with a proper wage increase,” Finch said at the picket line on Bernard Avenue today, Sept. 9.

Members began striking in other cities around B.C. on Monday, but workers in Kelowna, Kamloops and eight other cities from Victoria to For St. John were out on the streets today. A total of 4,000 workers were on strike with 22 picket locations.

Negotiations with the government stalled in July when it gave the union an offer that Finch said was unacceptable.

The Ministry of Finance said in a statement that it had proposed a 4.5 per cent compensation increase over two years, made up of both general wage increases and cost-of-living allowances. It said the union wanted 15.75 per cent, adding that the BCGEU's previously stated request for an 8.25 per cent wage increase "only tells part of the story."

The statement said the 2022 contract plus the BCGEU's current request would amount to a 30 per cent compensation increase over five years, while the government's proposed 18.75 per cent increase slightly exceeds projected inflation of 18.7 per cent in the same period.

The union took a vote to decide on a strike and 86 per cent of members voted with 93 per cent voting in favour of a strike.

“It should tell government that their offer was unacceptable, it's been rejected, and that if they want to see a resolution to this conflict, they're going to have to come back to the bargaining table with a meaningful change to their offer that addresses the needs of not just the membership here, but I would say something that British Columbians think is reasonable,” Finch said.

Currently, the union is trying to avoid affecting the public. Finch wouldn’t say whether there are plans to up the ante and how any further strike action might affect the public.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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